Towns consider their own medical marijuana laws

Published 12:30 am, Sunday, November 10, 2013

The debate of the future use of marijuana in Connecticut held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013

The debate of the future use of marijuana in Connecticut held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013

Photo: Scott Mullin

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Audience member Robert Specht of Hamden asks the panel about the future use of marijuana in Connecticut at the debate for legalization held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 less

Audience member Robert Specht of Hamden asks the panel about the future use of marijuana in Connecticut at the debate for legalization held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. ... more

Photo: Scott Mullin

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Erik Williams, Executive Director of Connecticut NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) responds to a question from the moderator at the debate for legalization, held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 less

Erik Williams, Executive Director of Connecticut NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) responds to a question from the moderator at the debate for legalization, held in the Ives Concert ... more

Photo: Scott Mullin

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State Representative Terri Wood who served on the Regulations Review Committee for Medical Marijuana moderates the debate for legalization of marijuana in Connecticut held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 less

State Representative Terri Wood who served on the Regulations Review Committee for Medical Marijuana moderates the debate for legalization of marijuana in Connecticut held in the Ives Concert Hall at Western ... more

Photo: Scott Mullin

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Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, Executive Director of the LICADD (Long Island Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) argues against the legalization of marijuana during a debate held in the Ives Concert Hall in Western Connecticut State University. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 less

Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, Executive Director of the LICADD (Long Island Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) argues against the legalization of marijuana during a debate held in the Ives Concert Hall in ... more

Photo: Scott Mullin

Towns consider their own medical marijuana laws

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It hasn't been easy for those who want to get into the business of growing or selling marijuana in Connecticut.

More than a dozen municipalities throughout the state are hanging out "not welcome" signs, using the only tools at their disposal -- land use and zoning laws -- to keep the industry from setting up shop within their borders.

Still other communities are drafting local ordinances to regulate how the businesses will be run. And at least one town has considered applications from a couple of would-be purveyors, only to quickly turn them down.

With less than two weeks before the deadline for prospective medical marijuana growers and sellers to file their applications with state officials, only a handful of facilities have won the necessary local zoning approvals.

"I feel like I'm out in the trenches right now, tiptoeing through land mines in a couple of different areas," said Diane Whitney, a land-use lawyer who has represented marijuana businesses. "This is a very tight regime they (the state) have put in place, which gives us great comfort and is a great help in talking with municipalities about allowing these facilities in their community. But I have to say that the message has not gotten through to all of them."

The business owners say that local fears are unfounded and that Connecticut's medical marijuana rules will provide secure, reliable locations to grow and sell a variety of strains of cannabis under the supervision of licensed pharmacists. They point out what often gets lost in the tedious zoning debates -- there are people who are suffering and need the drug to ease their pain, which is why the state adopted the law in 2012.

Loud voices

In Fairfield, neighbors came out in force to oppose two proposals for dispensaries on the Post Road, the town's busy commercial artery. Residents expressed outrage over increased crime and fear of decreased property values if the marijuana business was allowed in. The town's Planning and Zoning Commission turned both proposals down.

Shelton was the first community in the state to approve a moratorium, which lasts until June.

Richard Schultz, administrator for the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, said he attended a 2012 workshop held by the state chapter of the American Planning Association that alerted professionals to the imminent medical-marijuana law.

"We had meetings early on," Schultz said, adding that a public hearing is set for next April that could lead to an extension of the freeze.

Others quickly followed suit. From New Canaan and Westport, to Shelton and Ansonia, to Ridgefield, Trumbull, West Hartford and Madison, municipalities have put on the brakes, adopting moratoriums that allow them time -- generally, a year -- to delay making any decision on medical cannabis-related facilities.

Steve Kleppin, New Canaan town planner and senior enforcement officer, said the town received "a couple" of inquiries about possible medical cannabis dispensaries.

"That prompted discussions about what would be appropriate and whether they would like to see it in town or not," Kleppin said last week. "So the first step was to enact a one-year moratorium to take a little time to study the issue."

To delay or deny

But Erik Williams, whose company won local approval for a grow operation in a manufacturing building in New Britain, questions the real goal of the moratoriums.

"I think that a lot of the moratoriums that are being put in place now are misguided in that they are not moratoriums as much as they are shutting out their communities from participating in this program in the first round," said Williams, who is also director of the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "The Department of Consumer Protection and the Legislature did all of the heavy lifting, with all the rules and regulations, making this a very compliant business that cities and towns should welcome."

The moratorium is not a ruse, Ridgefield officials said. Last month, Ridgefield became the first town in the Danbury area to impose a year-long moratorium, after informal inquiries were floated to town officials over the summer.

The town will use the moratorium to consider which zoning designations will encompass the businesses that, until now, had been illegal enterprises, Town Planner Betty Brosius said. The commission is considering treating dispensaries as retail storefronts and growing facilities as light-manufacturing, and when such issues are resolved the moratorium will be lifted -- even before the year is up.

Brookfield has taken a step in the same direction, with its zoning commission scheduling a public hearing on Nov. 14 for residents to speak on whether the town should institute a moratorium.

A new tax base

New Milford is taking a different approach. Rather than prolong the process with a moratorium, the town's Zoning Commission decided to craft its own regulations, which will be presented at its Dec. 10 meeting.

Bill Taylor, chairman of the commission, said the body wanted to take a "proactive" approach to what could be an addition to the town's grand list of taxable property.

"The price of a license from the state is very high," he said. "So if you have somebody willing to invest that kind of money ... it creates an ability to raise your tax base very quickly."

The state requires a $25,000 application fee, a $75,000 license fee and a $2 million escrow account for those who want to get into the business. Rather than institute a moratorium, Taylor said the zoning panel decided to draft regulations so residents could take part in a debate on their merits once they are presented.

"This is something we want to get ahead of the curve," Taylor said. "You can either be run over by change or you can embrace it and go with it, and I prefer to embrace it and go with it because change is inevitable."

Newtown First Selectwoman Pat Llodra said she is not sure her town wants to allow the new industry.

"I think right now, certainly, I don't know that we have any interest at all in allowing any medical marijuana facility within our community," she said.

Newtown does not have to institute a moratorium. It has a "permissive code" that only allows what is expressly written into the books. Norwalk has a similar zoning law and any purveyors of pot would have to request a public hearing and seek a change in the city's land-use restrictions.

Officials in Danbury and Bethel have discussed the idea of a moratorium but taken no action so far.

"If you compare it to alcohol, municipalities do have the authority to regulate alcohol," Doyle said, pointing out the example of Bridgewater, which bans package stores. "I'm certain that it can be challenged, but if the towns can regulate alcohol use within their boundaries, it's possible they can regulate marijuana use."

Still, with the looming Friday deadline to hand-deliver their lengthy, detailed proposals to the state Department of Consumer Protection, cannabis professionals are confident that there will be enough competition for the nascent industry.

Looking for a match

And while some proposals have drawn close public scrutiny, others are in the background. In fact, some cannabis business owners declined to talk about their full plans with Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, including the planned locations of dispensaries, until after the state deadline.

David Lipton won approval for a cannabis-growing facility in an empty manufacturing building in West Haven. But his was one of the dispensary plans for Fairfield that galvanized neighbors and got shot down.

"I would say for someone looking to find a location, it's best that one is not next to a neighborhood or bus stops, because you will face a lot of opposition," Lipton said. "People do have a right to protect their neighborhood. If you want to increase your chances for approval, it's best to find an area without neighborhood involvement. Down the road that will change, but at the outset of the program, you have to be careful."

With the mid-November application deadline approaching, Lipton declined to discuss other locations he has in mind for a dispensary.

Whitney, the lawyer who specializes in zoning issues, said during a recent forum on medical cannabis at the University of Connecticut Law School that despite the strict regulations, the fear of California-style marijuana dispensaries and associated social problems of theft and violent crime can spread through a community like wildfire. The way towns and cities address proposals is crucial.

"How they decide to deal with these facilities is going to color the public perception of them," said Whitney, who represented Lipton in West Haven and Fairfield. "There is a great deal of fear out there among the municipalities. Much more fear than I expected."

Even as municipalities are grappling with medical marijuana, the idea of full legalization is already being debated. On Wednesday, about 100 people attended a forum on legalization at Western Connecticut State University, which featured a debate between Williams and Jeffrey Reynolds, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

William M. Rubenstein, the state Consumer Protection commissioner, recently held a workshop at the Capitol for local planners and zoning officials, but it didn't help in his own hometown of West Hartford, which adopted a moratorium of its own last month.

"We've been out there trying to educate municipal officials as well as the public at large," Rubenstein said. "The statutes take into account community interests in a variety of ways. We continue to get that message out. We are just trying to make sure we're explaining the program clearly, so a lot of the fears, from a lack of knowledge, evaporate."

State regulations among strictest

State regulations include distance requirements between marijuana-related businesses and schools and churches, and call for security for both growing and dispensing operations. Officials say they are among the strictest in the nation.

After proposals are accepted and researched, licenses for up to three growers and five dispensers will be awarded, and by next spring or summer for the first Connecticut-grown cannabis to reach dispensaries for patients who comply with the 11 eligible ailments.

Joe Palmieri, a Bridgeport farmer and businessman, said the nature of the new industry means local officials will take close scrutiny of proposals.

"I am the backer, the landlord, the business owner and the operator," Palmieri said last week. "Down the road, I may open a dispensary. Once the grow operation is up to my standards, I can branch off to a dispensary."

The owner of an environmental cleanup company and an Easton farm, Palmieri plans to grow medical marijuana in self-contained "grow pods" of his own design in a West End building recently approved by city officials.

"If you can't answer the questions and concerns, you should not be running a business in that area," Palmieri said.